International conference: Long-term language support of pupils with a different mother tongue as a prevention of school failure – 22. 10. 2020 Prague

International conference: Long-term language support of pupils with a different mother tongue as a prevention of school failure

On Thursday, October 22, we held a live stream of an international conference “Long-term language support of pupils with different mother tongue as prevention of school failure“.

The recording is available until November 3rd here.

The conference aimed to present and share Czech and foreign experience with long-term support of children and pupils with a different mother tongue, to connect different perspectives of this process and to support the involvement of the widest possible range of participants in the process of integrating pupils a with different mother tongue and thus contribute to increasing the inclusion of the Czech educational system concerning children and pupils with a different mother tongue.

META, o. p. s. has long drawn attention to the need for intensive teaching of Czech for newly arrived children and pupils. Intensive language training focuses mainly on the development of communication language. However, with this conference, we would like to point out the need to develop the academic language that must be provided in support of these children and pupils in the long term.

Experienced teachers from various levels of education, the coordinator of foreign education and other pedagogical researchers, as well as representatives of the Czech and Austrian Ministries of Education, will present their experience with this topic. From foreign guests, you can look forward to guests from Austria, Finland and Canada.

English speaking experts:

Mag. Andreas Stockhammer, MSc (Ministry of education of Austria)

German support classes and courses: The Austrian language support model 

11: 45 – 12:10

Andreas Stockhammer from the Department of Language Education, Diversity and Minority Education will speak on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research in Vienna. He will present a new model of the Austrian system of support for teaching and development of the German language for students who, according to standardized tests, do not reach the required level of German. He will talk mainly about the pedagogical goals and the importance of supporting the rapid acquisition of the German language and the development of academic vocabulary for mastering other school subjects.

PhD Jenni Alisaari and Heli Vigren (University of Turku)

Language support in Finland: Policy guidelines and practical suggestions 

14:00 – 15:00

Jenni Alisaari, teacher and researcher in the field of linguistic and cultural education from a Department of Teacher Education at the University of Turku, Finland, focuses on the training of teachers in linguistically and culturally sensitive teaching, the advocacy of multilingualism, language education and, in particular, on the learning of languages through singing. Together with Heli Vigren, a doctoral student will speak about Language support in Finland.

Dr Jim Cummins (University of Toronto)

Language Support for Multilingual students: Five key elements for developing school-based language policies

15:00 – 15:30

Professor Emeritus Jim Cummins has been dedicated to learning a second language for students with different mother tongues for a long time. He has experience with the topic not only from the North American but also from the European context. Forty years ago, Professor Cummins promoted a theory that students with different mother tongue should attend classes according to their cognitive abilities. Pupils must learn not only communicative language but also academic language, which takes much longer. In this context, Cummins continuously emphasizes the importance of long-term language support, but also the key importance of the mother tongue. Cummins’ theoretical foundations and practical research findings have played and still play a crucial role in the operation of META, o. p. s. In his contribution, he will talk about Five key elements for developing school-based language policies.

By the end of each block, you will have an opportunity to give questions to our speakers. 

Full program

The conference is intended for pedagogical staff, representatives of school management and state and public administration in the field of education and inclusion, organizations working with foreign-language children and pupils and the professional public.

Contact person:  Zita Kučerová